February 5, 1990
Another day at Broderbund. Today I didn’t even get to work on the graphics. All I did was meet with people: Henry Yamamoto (NEC 9801 version, looking good after three months’ work; possibly other Japanese versions); Dianne Drosnes (game machine licensing); Roland (3.5″ Apple II version; we fixed the bug that was causing all the trouble); and, of course, Tom, Lance, and Leila.
The IBM version impresses everyone who sees it. I’m feeling very confident.
I also talked to Jim Alex. He told me that I was going to be a hot property very soon and he wants to make my next script as well. That he had a first-look deal with Paramount, but that he left the lot because it was too much trouble to find parking, and is now close to making a deal with not just one but two other studios, MGM and Universal. He said: “I promise you this movie will get made.” At around this point it dawned on me that I was talking to a man on the verge of a complete psychological breakdown. It’s not only that I don’t believe him, it’s that it’s logically impossible for all of his statements to be true simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Larry Turman sent me a copy of the recommendation he wrote me for NYU. Warm and glowing. Now there is a producer, and a gentleman. He may not be riding a hot streak at the moment, but I’d work with him again in a second if the chance presented itself. The more experiences I have, the more I realize that working with people you like and respect is more important than anything else.
February 8, 1990
Got a call from Jack Abramoff, Jim Alex’s backer on In the Dark. He asked if I could write a synopsis of the story for him. He also asked if I had any casting suggestions for the lead teenage girl role. He seemed like a nice guy, even though everything I’ve heard is to the contrary. He told me he’d made Red Scorpion.
“I’ll have to rent it,” I said.
He laughed. “Don’t bother. Unless you’re a Rambo freak.”
VGA IBM POP went into QA on Tuesday.
February 22, 1990
Dianne Drosnes hailed me in the parking lot and told me she was following up on POP and, in addition to Nintendo and Game Boy, would try to license it for a coin-op.
February 23, 1990
Broderbund ten-year anniversary party.
March 5, 1990
Today was a glorious summer day. I got to Broderbund in time to go with Brian, Rob, Dane and Ed to China Camp for a picnic by the bay.
Saw the new NEC 9801 Prince from Japan. It’s beautiful. It blew me away. What a great feeling. As Lance said: “It’s like seeing the movie version of a book you wrote.”
Doug came in all excited about making Prince of Persia Roland MT-32 compatible. Nice thought, but it would mean slipping the release date. We talked him out of it, but just barely.
Apple Prince sold fewer than 150 units last month. It’s dying out there. This is unbelievable. Laurie reported to me a remark made by Latricia T., Marketing Manager: “It’s only an arcade game, and arcade games don’t sell.”
Time for me to take Latricia to lunch.
If only there were some way of harnessing Doug’s enthusiasm and putting it to use.
What I need is simple: (1) A marketing push for the IBM version. (2) Licensing to game machines.
Latricia and Dianne, respectively, hold my fate in their hands. And neither of them knows anything about computer games, or has any idea what makes this one special.
March 6, 1990
Drove to Forest Knolls where Danny Gorlin lives. He showed me his setup. We had lunch in Fairfax. It was a nostalgic day, recalling everything the software business once meant to me, and I’d write a lot more about it, if I weren’t going to Cuba.
